Heartbroken and Lonely
by kitcat2522
Summary: Chloe and Alek comfort each other. This is set after the finale.
1. Chapter 1

Heartbroken, Chloe stares at her ceiling. How could she have been so careless? Even in the disoriented half alive state she'd been in, there was no excuse for her unforgiveable slip. A moment that seemed to last forever but in reality had probably only been a few moments and now Brian was dead. Not only that, her father had either betrayed her to the Order or been tortured or killed for his connection to her. She wasn't sure which possibility was worse.

She was tired of being the Uniter, she felt as if the naïve days of her happy past before her sixteenth birthday were light years in the past. Chloe hardly felt like the same person anymore. Pre-Mai Chloe was young and carefree and her biggest worry was whether Amy would get her fired for chatting on the job. Uniter Chloe was burdened with the responsibility of the salvation of an entire race and had acquired a new bitter resignation about the seemingly endless threats on her remaining lives.

The nearly soundless landing of Alek in her bedroom from the tree in the yard broke her from her reverie but her expression never shifted. Outwardly, she had shut down. She had hardly spoken to anyone in the three days since the latest attack. Her mother thought she was ill and left her alone to rest in her room. She tugged her comforter closer to her chin as Alek approached her bed. Although she knew her mother kept the house at a constant 74 degrees, she couldn't seem to get warm.

"How are you?" asked Alek in an uncharacteristically awkward but sincere tone.

"I'm so cold," she answered, addressing her physical discomfort instead of the emotional agony he was more probably referring to.

"Scoot over," Alek ordered, slipping off his sneakers. He slid under the covers and lay on his back beside her, just close enough for her to feel his body warmth. "Maybe with two of us under here you'll be warmer…and I can't stand how quiet and empty my new apartment is," he confessed quietly. Although Chloe knew he was trying to give her space, the tempting heat that was practically radiating from his body was so tempting and she was too tired and hurting too badly to deny herself the little bit of comfort. She slid closer to Alek, throwing a leg over his thighs, putting her head on his chest, and tucking her hand under his opposite side. Wordlessly Alek accepted her cuddling and wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer. She looked up at his face and realized that, if anything, he looked worse than her. Alek had dark circles under his eyes and his eyes appeared bloodshot. Discreetly she glanced at the hand nearest her face and noticed mostly healed bruises and abrasions. It didn't surprise her that Alek preferred to deal with the physical pain rather than his emotions.

"How are you?" Chloe asked, wondering if he'd bother telling her the truth. He had to be hurting, Valentina was dead and Jasmine had been moved to a top security safe house for injured tribe leaders a few states over. Alek would get news when she either recovered enough to contact him or died.

"I'm fine, but you better not do anything stupid to get yourself hurt and leave me too," he whispered hoarsely. After a few minutes she realized that she was finally warm and closed her eyes. Before she knew it she was waking up with the light of dawn barely illuminating her room. For a moment she was confused then realized she had been awoken by Alek getting out of bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to those who reviewed! Please continue to let me know what you think!

Blearily she sat up already missing his warmth. "Where are you going?" she whined.

"I didn't think it would do for your mother to catch me in your bed even if we were just sleeping. I'm going to run to my apartment and change clothes. I'll pick us up some tea and be back soon," he whispered from the window sill before disappearing over the edge. She snuggled back down into the covers in the warm spot where he'd lain even though she knew she wouldn't fall back asleep.

A half hour later she listened to the sounds of her mom preparing for work thankful that it was Saturday and she could take her time waking up. After she heard the click of the front door locking behind her mother she crawled out of bed and padded to the kitchen. Her mom had laid out cereal fixings and left her a note telling her what time Chloe could expect her back that night with money to pick herself up something for lunch. Just as she was finishing the last few bites of her Lucky Charms her phone buzzed. It was a text from Alek informing her his ETA was thirty seconds. By the time she got to the door and opened it he was strolling up the walk with two steaming Chai lattes balanced in a drink holder.

"What took you so long?" she asked him. She didn't want to admit it, but she was glad he didn't seem to plan on leaving her alone for long. Alek sat gracefully on the end of her couch, looking as worn as she felt. She sat as near to him as she could without actually sitting on his lap. She felt bleary and hollow. Usually she was a morning person. She rolled out of bed perky. Her mom used to joke that all she was missing was a flock of birds chirping out a Disney melody her Mary Sunshine act was that bad. It scared her a little how lethargic she'd been lately, a cloud of fatigue seemed to cling to her body. Alek handed her one of the mugs of warm, spicy goodness and blew on his own for a moment before turning to her.

"Chloe, you haven't seemed yourself lately so I was paging through the Oracle today and I found a few passages I think Valentina," his voice broke a bit as he said her name but Alek forged on pretending it didn't, "I think Valentina was waiting to discuss with you until you'd had a chance to adjust a bit more. I guess the Uniter suffers certain side effects from the strain of pulling your soul back into your body. Each time you die it will take more energy to bring yourself back. You'll be left weaker and sicker for longer periods of time after each death." He sighed and ran a hand through his already tousled blond locks.

"Well I guess that means I don't have mono, which is what my mom keeps bringing up. Although that would have been just perfect since I've only ever had two kisses. But I guess I shouldn't complain if I did have mono. Better than being dead," Chloe said bitterly. Alek winced at the hurt in her face and put his mug on the coffee table so he could hold her.

"Chloe, you need to give yourself a break. You never would have knowingly killed Brian or the other boy. Brian caught you when you were disoriented. You had literally just died and then had your soul forced back into your body. Even though the consequences were rough, you have to forgive yourself," Alek tried to soothe her.


	3. Chapter 3

Suddenly Chloe realized just how often Alek had been around in the past few weeks. Whenever she'd been close to breaking down he had made excuses for her to her teachers and her friends. He had held her when she cried and comforted her. They hadn't even talked about the things she'd said to her mother and to him before everything had happened on that awful day. She had yet to apologize for hurting him. She felt even worse. He had to be suffering more than her, yet he had been the one taking care of her the past few weeks. She sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve, sitting up so she could look at Alek.

"Alek, I want you to know I am so sorry. I don't know what I would have done without you the past few weeks. I know you heard me tell my mom that I thought I loved Brian-"

Alek interrupted her, "Chloe, we don't need to talk about this right now. It's okay."

"No, Alek, it's not," she said firmly, "I know I said I loved Brian, but I was confused and scared. That all seems so far away now. I think I held onto him like he was my last chance at a normal life and," this was the hard part, "and because it scares me a little how much I need you." She swallowed before continuing, finally understanding herself the things she was saying to Alek, "I don't love Brian. The kiss we shared was reflexive. I still feel badly that I killed him but only in the same way I would feel bad about doing it to some stranger on the street." The half hopeful look in Alek's eyes warmed her from the inside the same way the sweet and spicy Chai tea did as she sipped it. She put her mug down and continued, "Alek, you are the one who has been here for me since the beginning. You've protected me, and put yourself in harm's way in the process. You've been patient with my stubborn-ness. I don't know when it happened, but I've started to feel like I'm not quite complete unless I am with you. Even though all these awful things have happened, being around you makes me feel happy. I think, I think I love you."

Chloe looked down, a little surprised at the words that had seemed to tumble from her lips with a mind of their own. Her senses felt heightened, she could feel her nervousness pulling her cat to the surface. She could hear Alek's heart beating faster than usual and sensed the warmth radiating from his hand a moment before it slipped under her chin and tilted her face to meet his soft brown eyes.

"Chloe, I know that you've been under a lot of stress, and you know how I feel about you, but are you sure you aren't mistaking gratitude and guilt for love? Those are not words I take lightly and I'm willing to wait to hear them until you are sure," Alek said softly. She knew he was lying though, he wanted to hear those words and he wanted her to be sure now.

"Are you trying to make me take them back?" she demanded with a bite of her old sass in her voice, "Because it sounds like you're trying to talk me out of my big declaration of love moment." She was teasing him and it made her happy to hear his laugh, it startled her to realize how long it had been since she'd heard it.

He tucked a stray curl behind her ear and leaned forward, his lips headed for her forehead. She didn't want one of the chaste, brotherly kisses he was wont to give her of late though so she tilted her head at the last moment to ensure his lips collided with her own. His lips were soft and gentle as they glided over hers and away, then back. He softly rubbed them over her own. Chloe was far from experienced and suddenly felt insecure. She had expected his lips to be slick and hard over hers but instead they were tender and gentle. She wondered if she could stand up to all the other girls Alek must have kissed to get so good at this. She hoped that he didn't feel like he was kissing a pillar. "Stop thinking about it so much, just let your instincts take over like when we fight," Alek said, once again reading her mind. The last thing she thought before his lips met hers again was that she wasn't sure if she liked putting kissing on the same level as fighting but as soon as Alek's lips met hers, this time with more heat behind them, she forgot how to string a coherent thought together. Suddenly her lips were moving with his, creating just the right amount of friction, instinctively feeling what to do. Alek rocked against her and she realized that he'd somehow managed to get her horizontal on the couch and he was on top of her.

She loved the way he felt on top of her, all hard places where she was soft. A slight moan left her throat as she arched her back and felt all of her rub against all of him. Suddenly she felt a vibration originating somewhere around her torso, tickling her. She pulled away from Alek, giving him a curious look. "Did you just purr?" she asked, incredulous.

He laughed as he rolled off of her, pulling his cell phone out of his chest pocket. "No, my phone is ringing," he said, still chuckling to himself as he answered it. She stayed where she was, panting. Her whole body tingled and she wished they hadn't had to stop. Alek's cheeks were flushed and his hair was sticking straight up in the air where she'd run her fingers through it. She was glad to see some color in his face. He'd been too pale and worn lately, he looked more like the old Alek but even more adorable with his lips slightly puffy from their kissing.

I hope this chapter makes my wonderful reviewers happy! Please continue to let me know your thoughts. Let me know what you want to see happen between Alek and Chloe. Do you think it's time for the Order to make an appearance again? Should Jasmine live or die? Are you feeling the lack of Amy and Paul? I know I felt like a lot of things were left hanging after the finale, what cliffhangers do you want resolved the most? Thanks again guys, I appreciate all the reviews.


	4. Chapter 4

Alek put the phone to his ear, "Hello," he said. He listened for a moment and dropped to his knees with an audible, graceless thud. Chloe was on her feet in a second, all the warm fuzzies she'd been experiencing from her recent make-out session with Alek disappearing in the adrenaline rush of a moment. Her hands were shaking as she waited for Alek to finish his conversation. She knew this had to be about Jasmine. She was somewhat relieved because she knew that now at least the terrible waiting would be over since they had finally received word about their friend. She stood behind Alek, unable to read his reaction from behind.

Alek's head was bowed, but that could be in either relief or sorrow. The suspense was terrible, she couldn't tell anything from the one side of the conversation that she could hear. She could tune her hearing in order to catch the other side of the conversation but she refrained for the same reason she couldn't bear to see Alek's face yet. She didn't want to hear that she'd lost another person. She didn't want to add another burden of grief to her already heavy load.

Chloe shook her head and straightened her shoulders. That was no way to think. Hadn't she just been mentally berating herself like five seconds ago for her selfishness? She was only thinking of herself again. If the worst had happened and Jasmine hadn't made it, Alek was going to need her. Jasmine was the last family he had left. Losing her would be much harder on him than it would be on her. She needed to put her own feelings aside this time and be there for him the way he had been there for her. Alek might be her protector but she didn't want their relationship to be one sided—him giving and her taking. He could let her take care of him for a change.

It was time to suck it up, nut up or shut up as Paul would say. She needed to stop stalling and find out what happened. Slowly she concentrated on Alek trying to focus on what he would be feeling. There was a tiny almost imperceptible mental click as her unique empathic bond was secured and his feelings slammed into her with the strength of flood waters flowing from a broken dam. She felt her legs go boneless as she too dropped to the floor.

**Hey guys, I know you'll probably hate me for building the suspense like this =) but stay tuned for the next chapter. I promise not to keep you waiting long especially since this chapter was really short. Please review and let me know what you think, it makes me want to update faster!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I present you, reviewers, with the latest chapter. Thanks for sticking with me guys, and putting up with the suspense! I hope you enjoy it. There's enough Chalek to satisfy those of you who have been asking for more hopefully. Let me know what you think!**

Relief. Alek's relief was so strong it had forced him and Chloe both to their knees. Chloe could feel his overwhelming happiness that his cousin was going to be fine. She didn't know the details but she knew what was most important. Jasmine would live, she was recovering. All that build up, all her fear, was unnecessary. She was so happy. It seemed like things were starting to look up. She and Alek had finally talked and connected. Jasmine was still breathing.

These were the last thoughts Chloe had before she blacked out. The thud of Chloe's knees hitting the floor had gotten Alek's attention so he caught her before she fully hit the floor scooping her up with a muttered four letter word. He gazed at her worriedly and carried her upstairs where he tucked her into her bed, brushing her hair out of her face. She was so beautiful it made his heart ache to look at her. Quietly he gave himself a second to absorb everything he'd heard in the last hour. Chloe returned his feelings. He knew he should probably be a bit more wary where she was concerned. She'd already broken his heart once. She'd seemed like she was warming to him before, but then she'd told her mum she loved Brian. Brian was gone now, which should leave him relieved. He no longer had competition for her affection, but did that make him the consolation prize? Was he second best?

No, Chloe wasn't like that. She'd said that her feelings had been muddled but, really, he'd always been the one. Chloe wasn't the kind of person to play games with people. If she said she loved him she meant it. He knew that before now they were at least friends and Chloe was unfailing loyal to friends, she wouldn't do that to him. Besides, he needed her too much to question her. He instinctively knew that she was telling him the truth earlier, he could feel it.

He wasn't too worried that she had passed out. He hadn't finished explaining to her what he'd found in his little research stint earlier. It took increasingly more power for the Uniter to bring herself back which meant that she would be exceedingly vulnerable upon her resurrection. She would be unable to sustain any use of her powers—her empathic gaze and use of Mai speed or strength would quickly drain her already low energy reserves. He was pretty sure that was what had just happened. She needed to rest and eat well in order to build back her strength. Chloe also needed extra protection now while she was at her weakest. Alek knew just the Mai hunter to watch over her and nurse her back to health too.

He let Chloe sleep and walked through the upstairs checking that all the windows were closed and locked. He did the same downstairs then headed to the kitchen to find something to feed Chloe. Valentina had always been too busy with pride business to really play the nurturing mother figure to him and Jasmine so they had both picked up some cooking skills through the years. He rummaged in the cupboards and found some veggies and a chicken breast. He decided to make Chloe some homemade chicken noodle soup. He moved through the kitchen chopping, stirring, seasoning, and tasting. Soon the only thing left to do was let the soup cook. He turned down the heat of the stove and went back upstairs to check on Chloe. She was out cold. She hadn't moved from where he'd laid her. He grabbed the extra blanket from the foot of her bed and threw it over her. She'd told him how cold she was last night. Ordinarily Mai's incredibly fast metabolism, part of the reason they healed so quickly, kept them warm regardless of weather conditions. Like Chloe's other Mai characteristics, her metabolism was being affected in her weakened state.

After three hours, the soup was done. Alek turned it down to a heat just high enough to keep it warm. He climbed up the stairs and peeked into Chloe's room. She was still sleeping but it seemed to be more of a light dose now instead of the dead log variety she'd been in before. He smiled in satisfaction and slipped under the covers next to her. Even in her unconscious state, Chloe rolled over and reached for him. She snuggled close to him, nestling her head under his chin. He wiggled a bit, trying to get a leg out from under the blanket (it was toasty under there) and she clamped onto him like a vice. He couldn't help it, he chuckled a little. The noise was enough to wake up the adorable girl in his arms.

As Chloe gradually returned to consciousness, she felt her head pillowed by something warm and firm. Well, that was confusing. Her pillows were soft, not firm, and she hadn't been warm for the longest time. She peeked through slightly raised eyelids and realized that her head was resting on the yummy chest of her personal cocky blond bastard. Not a bad way to wake up. Slowly the events from earlier in the day filtered back through her sleepy brain. Big confession, check; large helping of anxiety, check; and wonderful surprise of good news, check. She still had several things on her list of reasons to worry and issues needing to be dealt with, but today had taken a turn for the better. She was tired of her pity party, it was nice to soak up some good vibes. Besides, it was difficult to do the doom and gloom routine when Alek was being so sweet and taking care of her once again. Having him hold her made everything better. She felt at peace, complete.

Speaking of Alek, the devil himself broke into her train of thought teasingly saying, "Goodafternoon, sleepyhead, welcome back to the land of the living. How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad actually," Chloe said, "I don't know what happened. I haven't hit my head or anything recently." Alek quickly explained what he thought had happened and brought her up to speed on the rest of what he'd learned from the Oracle.

"Don't worry, Chloe, I'll make sure to keep a _very _close eye on you for a few days," Alek smirked and winked at her.

"Ya, ya," Chloe agreed. She was too tired to respond to his smug cockiness. She didn't really want to discourage him either. She liked that he was taking care of her. This sweet caring side of Alek was adorable. Suddenly, she was distracted by the mouth-watering smell of something delicious wafting to her sensitive nostrils. Chloe lifted her head with closed eyes, inhaling deeply. Her stomach rumbled with a sound like thunder fighting with a growling rabid dog. Alek looked at her and convulsed in laughter. "Was that your stomach? Or should I be worried about jackals again?" he asked. She glared at him but he only snickered in response. She blushed, now that she'd admitted her feelings she felt a bit self-conscious around Alek. The loud mutterings of her stomach were not very lady-like and she was feeling just a tad vain about her appearance. She hauled herself out of bed and scooped up some clean clothes on her way to her bathroom.

"I'll be right back," she assured Alek before disappearing. Quickly she splashed water on her face, ran a brush through her hair, and brushed her teeth. By the time she'd changed into fresh clothes she was starting to feel human again (as soon as she thought that she realized she needed a new turn of phrase, "human" wasn't really accurate anymore). Chloe was also feeling pretty ravenous. She gave her stomach a stern talking to though, "Now listen you, I have a boy out there waiting on me. I like him, so I'd like to appear charming and cute. I do not want to come off as a bottomless pit of unsatisfiable hunger. So enough with the growling, or I swear you will not be getting any junk food or chocolate for a week, so help me God." She walked downstairs, following her nose to the kitchen where Alek had already ladled her a large bowl of soup and set a spoon out for her.

Chloe dove on the food, moaning in delight at the delicious, homey, comforting dish. "Oh my gosh, Alek, did you make this?" she gushed. He was looking at her in interest, enjoying the noises she was making, "I'm glad you like it," he said, for once not seizing the opportunity to brag. He helped himself to a bowl and topped off her quickly depleting vessel before sitting at the counter beside her. "This is Jasmine's and my favorite comfort meal. There's something about good old fashioned chicken and noodle that warms you up, you know?" he made quick work of his bowl, speaking between bites. "Chloe, I'm sure you've already caught on by now," Alek told her, his tone cluing her in to the fact that he was being serious, "you need to take it easy for a few days. We won't be training until you're back at full health." "Once you finish your soup," he continued, "you should take a quick nap, I'll go pick us up some movies for tonight and tomorrow. Does that sound good?" Chloe nodded her assent. That sounded heavenly. Now that her hunger was sated, she was already getting sleepy again. She couldn't remember ever sleeping this much at one time and she was already ready to go back to bed again. She jolted a bit as she realized Alek had scooped her up off her stool and was once again carrying her up the stairs to her room.

"I can walk on my own you know," Chloe argued sleepily. She wasn't going to really argue though and they both knew it. Alek was holding her securely against his lean chest and she could hear the familiar pattern of his heartbeat thumping steadily in her ear.

"I know you could walk, but I love the way you feel in my arms. It makes me feel as if I can protect you from the world, if only for a few moments," Alek told her, looking into her eyes. Chloe didn't mind, he held her as if she were precious and fragile. It felt good. She didn't want to fight it. He tucked her in again and kissed her forehead. She looked up at him, content. She could already feel herself drifting off, she knew she was safe as long as he was with her.

**This is my longest chapter yet to make up for how short the last chapter was. PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! Did you like it? Did you not like it? Tell me why.**


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